Opening Screening

The Spooky Bunch (4K Digitally Restored Version)

World Premiere

Dir: Ann Hui
Scr: Joyce Chan
Ex. Prod: Josephine Siao Fong-fong
Prod: Chui Po-chu
L Prod: Tina Liu
A Dir: Rebecca Lee Lok-sze
Prod Co: Hi-Pitch
Cast: Josephine Siao Fong-fong, Kenny Bee, Kwan Chung, Lau Hark-suen, Tina Liu
1980 | Colour | DCP | Cantonese | Chi & Eng Subtitles | 93min

In the late 1960s, Josephine Siao left Hong Kong to pursue her studies abroad. After completing her education, she returned to the film industry and continued to expand her artistic career. By the late 1970s, she founded Hi-pitch Company Limited with the vision of breaking through the male-dominated filmmaking scene of the time and creating a film led by a female production team. She invited director Ann Hui and screenwriter Joyce Chan to collaborate, extending the suspenseful and psychological style of Ann's debut film The Secret (1979). Together, they fused mysterious Cantonese opera legends with wartime supernatural tales, using a darkly comedic approach that opened a distinctive new chapter in Hong Kong’s New Wave cinema.

A wealthy man living on Hong Kong’s outlying island of Cheung Chau invites a Cantonese opera troupe to perform, but insists that Ah Chi (Josephine Siao), usually consigned to supporting roles, take centre stage. He also orders his grand-nephew Dick (Kenny Bee) to court her. Their families’ histories soon come to light: Dick’s ancestors were responsible for several deaths, including that of Ah Chi’s grandfather, who placed a curse on Dick’s clan. Dick’s granduncle hopes that a marriage between the young pair will finally break it. But as the troupe settles in, a series of uncanny events unfolds. The ghosts of the wronged dead return to haunt them, possessing troupe members and turning an island once known for its simplicity into a chillingly isolated realm.

Siao’s playful performance anchors the film, while ghost-possession scenes by veteran actor Lau Hark-suen, usually known for his villain roles, add brilliantly comic flair. The Cantonese opera sequences woven into the film pay affectionate homage to Hong Kong’s cultural heritage, enriching the film’s spirited charm.

Special thanks to Ms. Josephine Siao and Hi-Pitch Co., Ltd. for their generous authorization, which has enabled the Archive to restore this film and allow audiences to rediscover this classic work, listed among the “100 Must-See Hong Kong Movies”.

The contents of the programme do not represent the views of the presenter. The presenter reserves the right to change the programme should unavoidable circumstances make it necessary.